John Henderson's Travel Adventures in Rome and Beyond

November 26, 2024

Transnistria: The breakaway republic is a little Russia inside Moldova — and Lenin is watching you

Transnistria is a breakaway Russian republic in Moldova right on the Ukraine border. Neither Moldova nor the United Nations recognizes it as an independent country. It is very Russian, from the Cyrllic alphabet to the Russian language to the ruble monetary unit. I spent a night there and took Village and Soviet tours for a full report.

November 19, 2024

Transylvania: Romania’s Baveria is a beautiful medieval tapestry that is more than Dracula

Once we got past Bran Castle and into the heart of Transylvania, we discovered a beautiful region of colorful architecture, lovely nature and interesting history. Brasov is one of the prettiest cities in Europe and Sighisoara, despite its overtourism, is worth visiting just for the wild skyline of towering spires.

November 15, 2024

Iasi Pogrom: A little-known dark period in WWII revealed in riveting museum in charming Romanian town

I’ve been to many World War II museums in Eastern Europe but a relatively new one in the Romanian town of Iasi blew me away. The Iasi Pogrom Museum details a few days in the summer of 1941 when Romanian prime minister Ion Antonescu ordered the slaughter of 13,000 Jews, one third of Iasi’s Jewish population. Many others died on horrific train journeys to concentration camps.

November 12, 2024

Moving to Italy: Trump’s victory leading thousands of Americans seeking pasta, vino and calm seas

So many people are disgusted with last week’s U.S. election that they are flooding expat websites trying to leave the country. A major target is Italy where I have received numerous inquiries, and the CEO of Expats Living in Rome says her emails have tripled. I examine the whole phenomenon with the CEO as we discuss the obstacles facing desperate Americans but also the rewards that are here..

November 5, 2024

Romania and Ceausescu: Dictatorship left scars on a bustling nation and a warning to the U.S.

With the U.S. election today, I found it ironic that I recently toured the home of Romania’s ruthless dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. I saw some parallels between what he did to his people and what Donald Trump threatens to do if elected. Ceausescu’s regime left marks on today’s society but I couldn’t tell while traveling around the wonderful country and strolling the pretty capital of Bucharest.

November 1, 2024

U.S. election: Four American expats weigh in on their concerns, fears and hopes for Tuesday

With arguably the most important presidential election in U.S. history approaching Tuesday, we American expats watch from afar. However, we are still affected. We are still emotion. We are still opinionated. I contacted four friends from around the world for a roundtable discussion about the issues.

October 30, 2024

Bran Castle: This giant tourist trap is more trick than treat

About 1 million people pour through Bran Castle in Transylvania every year hoping to connect with the legend of Dracula. I didn’t. I knew the castle had little to do with the famous horror novel or the legend that followed. What I found was one of the world’s biggest tourist traps.

October 25, 2024

Moldova: Village life a drop back in time in the least visited country in Europe

On every trip, I try to take a couple days and do nothing but watch that particular world go by. Who would’ve thought that in the middle of Moldova I’d find a village that was a pseudo paradise? Butuceni was that for me. I spent two days at the Butuceni Eco-Resort, getting to know the owner and locals and spectacular scenery.

October 22, 2024

Moldova wine: National Wine Day and world’s largest wine cellar plenty to drown my Italian-trained palate

Curious about Moldovan wine after a couple of tastings in Italy, I flew to Europe’s poorest country for the Moldova National Wine Day. For two days I tried wines from some of the 100 wineries that attended. I also toured the Milestii Mici winery boasting the world’s largest wine cellar with 2 million bottles of wine.

October 15, 2024

36 Hours in Rome: How I’d spend a short weekend here

The New York Times does a wonderful feature in its Sunday travel section called 36 Hours in … It picks a city around the globe and give readers places to go at appropriate times of the day. I did the same for Rome. I don’t include the major attractions such as the Colosseum and Vatican. You know those. I wrote about the places I would go as a Rome resident of 8 1/2 years. Hope it gives you some ideas next time you come to town, especially for the second time.

October 8, 2024

Travel tales from hell: Disease, machetes and the lessons we learn

(Director’s note: I’m traveling in Moldova, Europe’s poorest country which made me think of the worst trips of my life. I’m re-posting a blog I wrote five years ago on my travel tales from hell. I hope when I return I won’t add to it.”) To truly travel, one must truly suffer. It’s a backpacker’s […]

October 1, 2024

My Five Favorite Restaurants in Rome 2024: A new No. 1

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I started running a list of my five favorite restaurants in Rome in 2016. I try to do it every year that’s not wiped out by a global pandemic. The 2024 list is a little late but it’s out today. There is a new No. 1 but my usual No. 1, Renato e Luisa, made the list for the fourth time. Keep this list handy for that next trip to Rome.

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